Step one: Test updates in an isolated branch

The steps within step one will not affect the operation of production, stage, or development servers. Acquia's automated security update process will:

Create a branch from the tag or branch deployed to your production environment.

Deploy this branch to the RA Environment.

Live development is enabled on the RA Environment.

The production database(s) is copied to the RA environment.

Drush is used to apply all security updates to this branch.

A ticket is created to inform your team that the security update branch is ready for testing and approval.

After you approve the security update branch, Acquia will proceed with the next step.

Step two: Tag branch and deploy for additional testing

Once your team has approved the branch provided in the first step, RA Automation will:

Make a tag of the approved security update branch. The only difference between this tag and the source from step one should be the tested and approved security updates.

Backup all databases on your preferred testing environment.

Copy the latest databases from production into your preferred test environment (this defaults to the Stage environment). This ensures that the final test is against the most recent production data.

Deploy the tag to the testing environment for final testing.

Inform your team that the tag is ready for testing and approval to deploy to production. Acquia cannot move updated code to production without your explicit approval.

After you approve the tag of the the security update branch, Acquia will proceed with the next step.

Step three: Deploy tested tag to production

Once your team approves the tag, it will be deployed to production. You can schedule this for a specific time with a 24-hour notice within normal business hours. See Scheduling Production Deploy Windows for details.

Note

We cannot move code to production without explicit approval from the customer.

After you have approved the tag for release to production on the ticket, RA automation will do the following:

Back up the production database(s).

Deploy the tag.

Run any required database updates.

Inform you that production has been updated and should be tested.

If your RA preference is set to merge, RA automation will attempt to merge the update into your development branch. If the merge into the development branch requires troubleshooting, either Acquia or your team can create a new ticket (Premium Only).

If your RA preference is not set to merge, you should merge the branch/tag into your preferred branch (usually master or trunk). This ensures that the security updates are included in all future work.

Once your team has approved the branch provided in the first step, RA Automation will:

Make a tag of the approved security update branch. The only difference between this tag and the source from step one should be the tested and approved security updates.

Back up the production database(s).

Deploy the tag.

Run any required database updates.

Inform you that production has been updated and should be tested.

If your RA preference is set to merge, RA automation will attempt to merge the update into your development branch. If the merge into the development branch requires troubleshooting, either Acquia or your team can create a new ticket (Premium Only).

If your RA preference is not set to merge, you should merge the branch/tag into your preferred development branch. This ensures that the security updates are included in all future work.